King Xerxes Research Paper

Xerxes Xerxes the Great was the king of the Persian Empire from 486 BCE to 465 BCE. Xerxes was born “around 520 BCE” (Iran Chamber Society). His father was Darius the Great and his mother was Atosa, who was the daughter of Cyrus the Great. With close relatives who were held in high esteem to the citizens, Xerxes did not have to do much to prove himself as a worthy ruler. After the battle of marathon, Xerxes father died. Xerxes decided to try and conquer Greece because his father had failed to do so. In 481 BCE, Xerxes began his conquest of Greece. There were many omens and signs that meant the conquest would end badly, however, Xerxes ignored them all and continued to build his massive army. According to Mark, “Xerxes expeditionary force was over two million men and four thousand ships” (Mark, 2011). Xerxes army would come to outnumber many Greek forces in the upcoming encounters. By 480 BCE northern Greece had been completely conquered. As soon as Xerxes was finished he started marching his army straight for Athens. On the way the Persians fought the Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae. The Persians slaughtered the entire Greek force, with the help of a Greek traitor. …show more content…
He set the city on fire, soon after, according to Mark “he so regretted that, he would later reference that as his only remorse in the entire campaign” (Mark, 2011). The Greeks had taken refuge on the Straits of Salamis. Xerxes and his war council decided to attack the Greeks by sea. The Battle of Salamis was a complete disaster for the Persians. After which, Xerxes decided to return home. By the time Xerxes made it home, according to Mark “he had hardly any army left to speak of” (Mark, 2011). On his way home his men at bark and leaves because there was no other food. Many of his men died of disease and